For Indonesia, some say East Timor remains a scaly scab that just won't go away. No doubt the pathetic attempts to address the issue of East Timor and what happened during the Indonesian Occupation is a continual source of embarrassment to Indonesia that ever reminds the world that, in Indonesia if you have enough influence and power then you remain untouchable.
One things for certain if they do release the movie in Indonesia it is sure to raise the temperature of debate between Australua and Indonesia.
Indonesian censors consider Balibo ban (From AAP)
INDONESIA'S censors have formed a special team to decide whether to allow the politically sensitive Australian movie about the Balibo Five to be shown in the country.
The Indonesian government has declared Robert Connolly's Balibo "offensive'' and the Indonesian military has urged the country's censorship board, the LSF, to ban it.
The movie depicts Indonesian soldiers brutally murdering five Australia-based newsmen in the East Timor border town in 1975.
The movie, which is in the running for 14 AFI awards, contradicts the official Indonesian explanation they were killed in crossfire.
But the organisers of the Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFF), which kicks off next month, want to show the movie despite the possible controversy it could generate.
The have submitted the movie to the LSF, which has formed a special team to decide whether the thriller is too politically sensitive for Indonesian audiences.
The LSF prevented the JIFF screening several films about East Timor in 2006 because of similar concerns. But organisers are optimistic Balibo will be approved.
The film's release in Australia earlier this year came just weeks before federal police announced they would conduct a formal war crimes investigation into the Balibo killings, a move that sparked some diplomatic tensions.
The probe follows a 2007 coronial inquest that concluded Indonesian deliberately killed the journalists to cover up their invasion of East Timor.
AAP
3 comments:
Let's hope they do show it.
And I'd love to see Papua given similar coverage.
Stump,
It would be very interesting if they allow the film to be shown here.
Has Indonesia grown up that much since 2006?
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